Mitt Romney is going to be the next president*

[WillK]

Dude, how do you rack up 150K in student debt?  That's like five years tuition and board at Harvard.  

"Harvard University will increase tuition next school year by 3.8 percent, the school announced yesterday, bringing the annual cost of a Harvard education, including room and board, to $50,724."
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2010/03/19/harvard_will_raise_tuition/

[crypto-fascist superhero]

Dude, how do you rack up 150K in student debt?  That's like five years tuition and board at Harvard.  

"Harvard University will increase tuition next school year by 3.8 percent, the school announced yesterday, bringing the annual cost of a Harvard education, including room and board, to $50,724."
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2010/03/19/harvard_will_raise_tuition/

They also pay tuition in full for like 95% of their students, so not someone going to Harvard.  Presumably the aforementioned individual went to some expensive-ass liberal arts bullsh**t place then graduate school, plus had a bunch of interest piled on.

[Invisible Obama]

No, he will not. Ads don't win elections. Paying people to pretend isn't exactly a winning tactic, either.

Mitt Romney is Bob Dole and John Kerry, a generic figurehead who don't really have what it takes to defeat an incumbent. His multiple positions on issues can be played up heavily, because it makes him look like an opportunist. No one goes from being somewhat moderate to far-right in a few years. Those reasons are why he won't even be the nominee, there is absolutely no way his primary opponents are not going to hit him on his waffling. Even if he does manage to be the nominee, he's not going to have a big, easy win.

The recovery is still on track, so realistically, unemployment is going to go down and that's not good news for any Republican candidate.

[Dallasfan65]

How many of these people were laid off by Romney?

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

I can think of two candidates who have a better message than Romney.
Ron Paul and Herman Can.

"OMG FEDERAL RESERVE!!!!" and *insert Herman Cain's platitudes here* are better messages than a candidate focusing on jobs?

[Proud Lieberal from Northeast]

I can think of two candidates who have a better message than Romney.
Ron Paul and Herman Can.

"OMG FEDERAL RESERVE!!!!" and *insert Herman Cain's platitudes here* are better messages than a candidate focusing on jobs?

Romney always had a very strong messages... just depending which one at the time.

[A dog on every car, a car in every elevator]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57125.html

[useful idiot]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57125.html

It was a joke about losing the election last time, and even according to that little snippet the people he was with laughed at the joke.

Alexander Burns needs to learn how to not be retarded...

[stegosaurus]

I can think of two candidates who have a better message than Romney.
Ron Paul and Herman Can.

"OMG FEDERAL RESERVE!!!!" and *insert Herman Cain's platitudes here* are better messages than a candidate focusing on jobs?

If you were a paranoid, radical libertarian - then you would probably be inclined to think so. "Don't forget that a round table of evil bankers, on an undisclosed private island somewhere in the Atlantic are manipulating us all with the puppet strings of fear; dancing us straight into a world of oppression, poverty, and authoritarian global government - all in the name of insatiable greed and arguable levels of purely narcissistic insanity and the only way to stop them is to abolish the fed (the means through which they practice their economic witchcraft) and revert to basing the value of our currency on a finite commodity!" - does that about sum it up?

[angus]

Dude, how do you rack up 150K in student debt?  That's like five years tuition and board at Harvard.  

"Harvard University will increase tuition next school year by 3.8 percent, the school announced yesterday, bringing the annual cost of a Harvard education, including room and board, to $50,724."
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2010/03/19/harvard_will_raise_tuition/

They also pay tuition in full for like 95% of their students, so not someone going to Harvard.  Presumably the aforementioned individual went to some expensive-ass liberal arts bullsh**t place then graduate school, plus had a bunch of interest piled on.

Basically, that was my first thought.  Education is expensive, no doubt.  We have to pay all those administrators huge salaries, after all.  But on average it isn't that expensive.  His debt is the result of some poor decisions that he made.  

Ah, well, the bump in the road thing is cute.  But it lends itself more to short attack ads and speeches, not a repetitive, droning 60-second commercial.

[JohnnyLongtorso]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57125.html

It was a joke about losing the election last time, and even according to that little snippet the people he was with laughed at the joke.

Alexander Burns needs to learn how to not be retarded...

Unfortunately for Mitt, the "joke" seems to be gaining some traction in the media.

[SirNick]

Dude, how do you rack up 150K in student debt?  That's like five years tuition and board at Harvard.  

"Harvard University will increase tuition next school year by 3.8 percent, the school announced yesterday, bringing the annual cost of a Harvard education, including room and board, to $50,724."
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2010/03/19/harvard_will_raise_tuition/

They also pay tuition in full for like 95% of their students, so not someone going to Harvard.  Presumably the aforementioned individual went to some expensive-ass liberal arts bullsh**t place then graduate school, plus had a bunch of interest piled on.

"Seventy percent of Harvard students receive some form of financial aid, with close to 60 percent receiving need-based scholarships."
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/home/news-and-notices/news/press-releases/admissions-03302009.shtml

Need-based aid could be very little or a lot.

[useful idiot]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57125.html

It was a joke about losing the election last time, and even according to that little snippet the people he was with laughed at the joke.

Alexander Burns needs to learn how to not be retarded...

Unfortunately for Mitt, the "joke" seems to be gaining some traction in the media.

"I'm networking. I have my sight on a particular job."

That line that followed the unemployed statement, and was left off Politico, makes it even less of a serious story.

I mean, how are the Dems going to spin this? "Governor Romney was completely insensitive to the fact that so many people are being hurt by the economic conditions that we've failed to improve in any serious way"? The audience laughed because their feelings were hurt?

[A dog on every car, a car in every elevator]

I'm sure the DNC could find 15 real unemployed people to cut an ad with them telling Romney unemployment is not a joke for people worth less than a hundred million.

[useful idiot]

I'm sure the DNC could find 15 real unemployed people to cut an ad with them telling Romney unemployment is not a joke for people worth less than a hundred million.

Does the DNC really want to make an ad highlighting unemployment in this country?

[JohnnyLongtorso]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57125.html

It was a joke about losing the election last time, and even according to that little snippet the people he was with laughed at the joke.

Alexander Burns needs to learn how to not be retarded...

Unfortunately for Mitt, the "joke" seems to be gaining some traction in the media.

"I'm networking. I have my sight on a particular job."

That line that followed the unemployed statement, and was left off Politico, makes it even less of a serious story.

I mean, how are the Dems going to spin this? "Governor Romney was completely insensitive to the fact that so many people are being hurt by the economic conditions that we've failed to improve in any serious way"? The audience laughed because their feelings were hurt?

Dude, just because the handpicked Republicans at Romney's little meeting laughed at his comment doesn't mean that his comment wasn't insensitive, bordering on offensive, to the millions of people who are unemployed through no fault of their own and who don't have a few hundred million dollars in assets to comfort them. I would be offended, since I'm one of those people, but I don't expect any better from an aloof plutocrat like Mitt Romney. He couldn't possibly understand what people like me are going through; to make a "joke" that he's just like us is an idiotic thing to do, and to go "hurr it's the Democrats fault!" instead of just calling it like it is, a dumb thing that he shouldn't have said, is ridiculous.

[NHI]

It was joke, it won't stick. The Democrats are grasping at straws.

[© Tweed the Younger]

I'm not sure what this thread is actually about, but this past week I've been thinking about it and come to the conclusion that Romney is, very likely, going to be the president in Jan 13.

[NHI]

I'm not sure what this thread is actually about, but this past week I've been thinking about it and come to the conclusion that Romney is, very likely, going to be the president in Jan 13.

I think you're right.

[milhouse24]

the only question seems is how the Evangelicals can effect or alter the GOP primaries to prevent Romney from winning the nomination. 

If Romney wins NH and Nevada decisively, he should be able to win in SC as well, and thus, secure the nomination. 

Evangelicals may coalesce around one candidate in Iowa, such as in Huckabee of 2008. 
That person may be Bachmann or Pawlenty, but I doubt either of those 2 can beat Romney in NH, who will have a stronger ground game this time.  Unless Evangelicals embrace Huntsman, I think he's going nowhere fast, and just warming up for 2016.  I'm puzzled as to why Huntsman would even compete in NH, given Romney's geographical strength and Mormon support.  It might be a decisive issue in the usually solid Mormon community.

But I'm on the Romney bandwagon, since Daniels and Barbour (the 2 heavyweights) are gone.  Perry could make some noise, but I think Romney appears more competent than Perry for now.

[Is JCL in mushy sappy love]

I can think of two candidates who have a better message than Romney.
Ron Paul and Herman Can.

"OMG FEDERAL RESERVE!!!!" and *insert Herman Cain's platitudes here* are better messages than a candidate focusing on jobs?

Loosening the restraints on the market and cutting taxes is focusing on jobs.

[Is JCL in mushy sappy love]

I can think of two candidates who have a better message than Romney.
Ron Paul and Herman Can.

"OMG FEDERAL RESERVE!!!!" and *insert Herman Cain's platitudes here* are better messages than a candidate focusing on jobs?

If you were a paranoid, radical libertarian - then you would probably be inclined to think so. "Don't forget that a round table of evil bankers, on an undisclosed private island somewhere in the Atlantic are manipulating us all with the puppet strings of fear; dancing us straight into a world of oppression, poverty, and authoritarian global government - all in the name of insatiable greed and arguable levels of purely narcissistic insanity and the only way to stop them is to abolish the fed (the means through which they practice their economic witchcraft) and revert to basing the value of our currency on a finite commodity!" - does that about sum it up?

I'm a Paleoconservative with libertarian views on a few things. I'm not paranoid and why doesn't commodity based currency sound like a good idea to you?

[useful idiot]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57125.html

It was a joke about losing the election last time, and even according to that little snippet the people he was with laughed at the joke.

Alexander Burns needs to learn how to not be retarded...

Unfortunately for Mitt, the "joke" seems to be gaining some traction in the media.

"I'm networking. I have my sight on a particular job."

That line that followed the unemployed statement, and was left off Politico, makes it even less of a serious story.

I mean, how are the Dems going to spin this? "Governor Romney was completely insensitive to the fact that so many people are being hurt by the economic conditions that we've failed to improve in any serious way"? The audience laughed because their feelings were hurt?

Dude, just because the handpicked Republicans at Romney's little meeting laughed at his comment doesn't mean that his comment wasn't insensitive, bordering on offensive, to the millions of people who are unemployed through no fault of their own and who don't have a few hundred million dollars in assets to comfort them. I would be offended, since I'm one of those people, but I don't expect any better from an aloof plutocrat like Mitt Romney. He couldn't possibly understand what people like me are going through; to make a "joke" that he's just like us is an idiotic thing to do, and to go "hurr it's the Democrats fault!" instead of just calling it like it is, a dumb thing that he shouldn't have said, is ridiculous.

The joke wasn't that he's "just like us". The joke was, if anything, self-deprecating because it was a jab at himself for losing in 2008.

If anyone was offended by it, it's because of a deficiency on their part, not on Romney's. It's blatantly obvious to anyone with 1/32 of a brain that he a) had no ill intention in making the joke, and b) doesn't actually think his situation is comparable to that of people struggling to make ends meet.

I'm not supporting Romney, and I probably won't vote for him, but I'm not going to be a whiny little bitch and go out of my way to try to find statements of his to get offended by.

[A dog on every car, a car in every elevator]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57125.html

It was a joke about losing the election last time, and even according to that little snippet the people he was with laughed at the joke.

Alexander Burns needs to learn how to not be retarded...

Unfortunately for Mitt, the "joke" seems to be gaining some traction in the media.

"I'm networking. I have my sight on a particular job."

That line that followed the unemployed statement, and was left off Politico, makes it even less of a serious story.

I mean, how are the Dems going to spin this? "Governor Romney was completely insensitive to the fact that so many people are being hurt by the economic conditions that we've failed to improve in any serious way"? The audience laughed because their feelings were hurt?

Dude, just because the handpicked Republicans at Romney's little meeting laughed at his comment doesn't mean that his comment wasn't insensitive, bordering on offensive, to the millions of people who are unemployed through no fault of their own and who don't have a few hundred million dollars in assets to comfort them. I would be offended, since I'm one of those people, but I don't expect any better from an aloof plutocrat like Mitt Romney. He couldn't possibly understand what people like me are going through; to make a "joke" that he's just like us is an idiotic thing to do, and to go "hurr it's the Democrats fault!" instead of just calling it like it is, a dumb thing that he shouldn't have said, is ridiculous.

The joke wasn't that he's "just like us". The joke was, if anything, self-deprecating because it was a jab at himself for losing in 2008.

If anyone was offended by it, it's because of a deficiency on their part, not on Romney's. It's blatantly obvious to anyone with 1/32 of a brain that he a) had no ill intention in making the joke, and b) doesn't actually think his situation is comparable to that of people struggling to make ends meet.

I'm not supporting Romney, and I probably won't vote for him, but I'm not going to be a whiny little bitch and go out of my way to try to find statements of his to get offended by.

Speaking of blatantly obvious, are you really not seeing the irony?  Barely a week after trying to inflate Obama's "bump in the road" metaphor into the Mother of all signs of insensitivity to the unemployed, this joke about how he's unemployed too and should he share his story like everyone else comes out of Romney's billionaire mouth.  It's not as perfect as Weiner accusing Clarence Thomas of trying to hide a shameful disclosure on Memorial Day then, on the same night, posting a crotch photo for all 40,000 of your twitter followers to see... but it's the same basic rhythm.  That's why I put it in this thread.